Malaysia claw back to beat Germany 3-2

Malaysia came back into the game to beat Germany 3-2 in the opening match of the second Under-21 International Hockey Championship vying for the Sultan of Johor Cup at the Taman Daya Hockey Stadium here Sunday.

The home team trailed 0-2 in the first half when Germany led 1-0 in the 18th minute through a penalty corner by Tom Grambusch and increased the lead through a field goal five minutes later by Tompertz Moritz.

Unperturbed, Malaysia became aggressive after the breather when they reduced the deficit in the 38th minute through Mohd Syamim Yusof and equalised 11 minutes later through captain Muhammad Noor Faeez Ibrahim.

Malaysia continued to pile the pressure against the visitors as the game headed for a draw when Muhamad Ramdan Rosli clinched the winner in the 67th minute, much to the delight of local fans and Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) president Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah.

Commenting on the match, national coach Muhammad Dhaarma Raj said his charges paid the price for being too cautious in the first half, and but the change in the game plan paid off when Malaysia made a transition from defence to attack.

In the opening encounter earlier, Pakistan, who led 3-0 at halftime, were held to a 3-3 draw by New Zealand.

India beat reigning runners-up Australia 2-0.

Six teams are vying for honours, namely India, Pakistan, Germany, Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia.